2015 was a roller-coaster year in the political arena, not only of gridlock, but also of sex scandals. While there is certainly a notoriety for all, which prevented some from remaining in office, at least one person was able to run a successful reelection bid. Here’s a breakdown of some of this year’s biggest political sex scandals:
Virginia Democrat wins election amid teen sex scandal, convictionJoseph Morrissey, who is serving a three month sentence for having a sexual relationship with a teenage employee, was reelected to office in January after a Special Election. The 57-year-old was initially sentenced to 12 months in jail with six months suspended, but will only serve three months, the Associated Press reported. He’s enrolled in a work-release program that allows him to work as a legislator and lawyer by day, while spending nights in a Henrico County jail, the report said. After he resigned in December of last after, Morrissey later launched a bid for reelection. Morrissey and the girl who is now 19-years-old, have a son together. Read more here.
GOP Senator and prostitutes In a major political upset in Louisiana, Republican Sen. David Vitter lost his bid last month in the state governor race, after facing off with an aggressive Democratic challenger who used his sexual scandal to draw sharp contrasts. Vitter, who calls himself a “family-values conservative,” apologized for committing a “serious sin” after his phone was found during a probe of a D.C. prostitution ring in 2007. Still, his opponent, a U.S. veteran, blasted him for soliciting prostitution when he missed a vote in 2001 to honor soldiers of the first Iraq war. Read more here.
Secret Service officer charged with sexting teenLee Robert Moore, 37, a uniformed Secret Service officer assigned to the White House, was charged with attempting to send explicit photos of himself last month to an undercover officer who was posing as a underage 14-year-old girl on Kik. Read more here. Former GOP House Speaker pleads guilty in sex scandal cover-up Dennis Hastert, 73, who served as House Speaker between 1999 to 2007, is set to spend at least six months in prison. In October, the once-powerful Republican pleaded guilty in court for paying $3.5 million to quash allegations of sexual misconduct with a student when he was a high school teacher and coach decades ago. Hastert also admitted that he illegally withdrew $952,000 to avoid showing red flags. Read more here. Republican lawmakers’ sex scandal leads to expulsion in MichiganMichigan state Rep. Todd Courser was forced to resign from office in September for covering up an extramarital affair with he had with his colleague, Cindy Gamrat, who was also kicked out. Courser circulated an email accusing himself of engaging in salacious behavior with a male prostitute. The Republicans lost their bids last month to win back their seats. Read more here. Former Obama cabinet member resigns after “sex parties” scandalU.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Director Michele Leonhart resigned in April, after a group of bipartisan congressional leaders criticized her for failing to fire five agents who admitted taking part in sex parties paid for by Colombian drug cartels. Leonhart told lawmakers at the time that she has no authority to fire the agents, NBC News reported. Read more here.
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